Cabinet ratifies Limpopo Special Economic Zone

Friday, July 8, 2016

Pretoria - Cabinet has ratified Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies’ decision to designate the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone in Limpopo as well as to grant a Special Economic Zone Licence to the Limpopo Economic Development Agency.

The Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone (SEZ) will be located in Vhembe.

In a statement on Friday following its fortnightly meeting, Cabinet said the Hoi Mor Consortium will plan, develop, manage and market the South African Energy and Metallurgical Industrial Park within the zone.

“The designated zone will promote industrial development in the region with a specific focus on mineral beneficiation, agro-processing, petro-chemicals, and other light industries as envisaged in the Nine-Point Plan.”

This SEZ is anchored through an investment of over R40 billion in an Energy and Metallurgical Industrial Cluster. The implementation of various projects over the next five years is expected to create over 21 000 jobs.

The Musina-Makhado region is also part of the Trans-Limpopo Spatial Development Initiative and is well positioned for regional integration and linkages with Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Botswana.

In March, Minister Davies published his intention to designate the South African Energy and Metallurgical SEZ for public comment.

2016 Logistics Performance Index

Meanwhile, Cabinet noted South Africa’s improvement in the World Bank’s 2016 Logistics Performance Index. 

This as the country recently improved by 14 places in the survey that assesses criteria including the efficiency of customs and border clearance.

South Africa stands at 20 of 160 countries assessed by the survey, moving up from 34 in 2014.

“South Africa's improvement by 14 places in the index tells us that South Africa is certainly open for business. The ease of movement for goods and services contribute significantly to a country’s competitiveness, particularly as a destination for investment,” said Cabinet.

Community Survey

Cabinet also welcomed the 2016 Community Survey report conducted by Statistics South Africa. The report shows progress made in key areas of service delivery.

The survey shows the country's population has grown from 51.8 million to 55.7 million.

“These statistics are an important yardstick to inform strategic planning for government particularly the new and incoming administration of local government following the elections on 3rd of August. Government will intervene to address the challenges highlighted in the report through the National Development Plan Vision 2030, which is the plan of the people by the people.” – SAnews.gov.za